That's What You Get For Hanging Out With Canadians
Mark Lefebvre on "The Best Laid Plans" by Terry Fallis
On the Pod This Week:
Today’s guest is one of my dearest friends and most favorite bookworms, Mark Lefebvre. Mark was and still is the earliest and most enthusiastic champion of this podcast, and a regular recurring guest. His enthusiasm for the bookworm life always enervates my own reading life, and when we get talking, we have a hard time containing our mutual glee. Sometimes when Mark and I talk, one of us will bemoan that we don’t live nearer to each other (I’m on the west coast of America, he’s on the east coast of Canada; it’s tough to meet for lunch.) But honestly, we both know that if we did live near each other, it would probably spell disaster for both of us. We’d shun our day jobs to wander used bookstores together, and then we’d take our purchases to a local pub to order too many craft cocktails and talk books deep in the night. (Don’t ask me how I know this to be true.)
Show Notes:
The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis
Earth Abides by George R. Stewart
BBE Episode 009 Mark Lefebvre on Earth Abides
BBE Episode 058 Mark Lefebvre on Traveling Music by Neil Peart (this is one of those very rare occasions when Mark and I disagreed about a book, and let me tell you: saying something negative about Neil Peart in front of Mark Lefebvre was the riskiest thing I have ever done in my life. I am so brave.)
Fifth Business by Robertson Davies
Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger
BBE Episode 010 Casey Starnes on Catcher in the Rye
Titles Bookstore at McMaster University
High Spirits by Robertson Davies
Pygmalian by George Bernard Shaw
Operation Angus by Terry Fallis
Three Cheers For Me by Donald Jack
The Long Way Back by Nicole Bart
Number One is Walking by Steve Martin
The Canadian Mounted by Mark Leslie
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Julie’s Current Read:
Before I tell you about this book, I want to remind you of my favorite Roger Ebert quote, “It’s not what a movie is about; it’s how it’s about it.” I use that line whenever I’m trying to push a fantastical book on a person who only reads realistic fiction.
So, to that end: it’s not what Shark Heart is about that matters, it’s how it’s about what it’s about.
Shark Heart is the story of newlyweds Lewis and Wren. Just a few weeks after they are married, Lewis receives a devastating diagnosis: he is slowly turning into a great white shark. (I know. Stay with me.) In the world of this novel, such diagnoses are rare but not completely unknown. Lewis, an artist, must cope with his unexpected and unwanted transformation, and Wren tries to continue to care for and love him through it while remembering her own childhood.
It’s such a weird and beautiful meditation on the nature of unconditional love and motherhood and letting go. I loved it so deeply, but every time I hand it to my friends I say, “Don’t think too hard about the plot. Just go with it.”
Julie’s Current Listen:
Is Ann Patchett our greatest living writer?
I suspect she is. I am never, ever, ever disappointed with an Ann Patchett book.
On audio, this is narrated by the Divine Meryl Streep. While Ms. Streep does occasionally Do Voices, which I loathe in audiobooks, it doesn’t happen enough to make me quit the book. And anyway I’ll forgive her the voices because, after all, it’s Meryl Streep. Most of the book is her melted flint voice, and her access to the very world this book is about makes it all the more profound. I suspect if you are a theater nerd, or a Thornton Wilder fan, you will love it even more.
Julie’s Current Obsession:
I don’t have a lot of skills that can translate to charitable work. I can’t build a house or dig a well or donate millions of dollars to an environmental organization. But I can cook the hell out of a casserole, and bringing dinner to someone in need is right in my wheelhouse.
The concept of Lasagna Love is simple enough: you sign up for how often you want to bring a meal to those in need, and how far you are willing to drive. I chose once a month, in a thirty-mile radius. A few weeks later, I got my first assignment: a family of five right near my son’s school. I took a Saturday to make a real lasagna, another thing I haven’t done in years. (Why did I stop making lasagnas? They are so damn good. I used this recipe, which was time consuming but not difficult. It was the loveliest afternoon. I doubled the recipe, listened to a podcast while I made it, and after I dropped off my donation lasagna with a store bought salad and a bucket of ice cream, I came home to an already-made meal for my family. Bliss!)